Stones and urinary problems in male cats

No, CJ is not having problems, calm down Barbara.

Tubby never ever had any problems such as stones and/or crystals. All he ever had was a UTI once when he was about 17 (if I remember right). However, it does seem to be somewhat of a common problem for male cats, and age doesn't seem to be a factor, so I was wondering.....

If CJ is eating Science Diet Senior formula, is this a good food to help prevent such problems? I guess I'm thinking it is because of never having problems with Tubby, but I'm just curious. I know there are certain foods out there that kitties need to eat to help prevent this, but if he hasn't had any problems....

Like I said, he's had no problems peeing (and 3 days in a row now for first class, a-1's ) but as you can imagine after everything I've been through in the last two months, I'd really rather take preventative measures rather than end up at the emergency vet again.

Are there any foods/treats I should stay away from that are more likely to cause stones/crystals?

Deb, I've always been told to stay away from foods with a high ash content, especially fish-flavoured wet foods like fancy feast Whitefish and Tuna.

In the 8 years I've had Max, he has developed crystals 3 times all due to stress. Recently when I had renos done, he had a combo of crystals and a mild case of UTI that was treated successfully with antibiotics and Hills CD. For the past couple of years, I always keep a bag of CD and SD handy and every 3 or 4 months, I'll give him Hills CD for a couple of weeks, then put him back to MediCal Low Protein. Wether that's good or not, I don't know but I'd like to think that I'm being proactive and preventing any further problems.

I copied this off a website:

Should I Feed My Cat a Low-ash / Low Magnesium Cat Food?

A small percentage of cats are prone to a disease which causes crystals to form in the urine. This disease goes by many names, including feline bladder disease, lower urinary tract disease, or feline urologic syndrom (FUS).

It is thought that diet, particularly the levels of magnesium (a component of the ash content in the diet), may contribute to the formation of these urinary crystals. This has led to the recommendation that cats be fed diets which contain less ash and magnesium. Not all cats need to be on a low-ash/low magnesium diet, but only those cats found to be prone to this disease.

A good low-ash cat food should not contain a concentration of more than 6% ash (on a 100% dry weight basis). Magnesium should be no more than 0.1% and no less than .05% in a low-ash cat food. All low-ash/low magnesium cat foods that are certified by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association must conform to these standards, and are designated with the term "low-ash" on the package along with the CVMA seal of certification.

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Debbie, I has those kinds of problems with my RB Tony and I have also been through those kinds of problems with Smokey. For some reason some male cats tend to be more prone to those types of problems and some never have a problem....for instance Abner has never had a problem.

You do want to stay away from foods that are high in ash content. It is a simple as reading the label.

I tried all the Science Diet and Hills Prescription Diet food for Smokey and none of them helped him with his problems. He ended up with surgery to rectify the problem.

My vet says that most formulas of food today contain stuff to prevent the forming of crystals. But only 20% of the cat UTI problems are due to crystals. More than 50% are idiopathic which means a lot of reasons (viruses, auto immune) that are not too well known today. Food does not help in these cases.

Only 3% are due to a primary bacteria infection. Of course any other cause can alos be followed by a secondary bacterial infection (and usually is).

Thanks for the info guys. Slick, I'll be printing off that last paragraph and comparing it to the Science Diet Senior. Of course, I'll have to go to the pet store to do this since I keep their food in a plastic airtight container and throw the bag away right away.....

I'd suggest you wait a month after CJ returns to normal
(no meds in his system and eating / drinking normally) and
take a urine sample in for a complete analysis.

The Vet can check for any stones or crystals, do a pH test,
and look for any blood or protine.
A really "complete" urinalysis has to be done by a lab, and is a
lil bit "pricey" - but you might want to consider it.

There are a LOT of articles on the web - many authored by Vets,
that offer information on male cat urinary problems and
dietary suggestions.

I just found This One >>>"Natural Diet"
that is NOT written by a Vet, and is rather biased against commercial
(dry) foods... Since MANY cats live long, healthy lives eating
nothing other than dry commercial foods, I find her opening paragraph
to be rather "flawed"!
BUT she does hit on some of the Major Cat Health Issues.

When Boots had all his urinary problems, I read a LOT of the
available articles; but didn't put too much faith in any one
"theory" unless I found several Vets who wrote similar articles
or made the same or similar suggestions.

Keeping a *vigilant eye* on CJ when he visits the box is one
of the best ways to spot a problem in the making.

My RB kittie, Willie (also my first) had that problem. That is when the vet told me to watch the ash content of his food. He recommended Science Diet, and that is now the only brand of food all my guys eat, and no one has ever had a problem.

They also told me the less expensive brands have a high content of ash. At the time being a first time "mother" I didn't know the difference and just bought whatever was on sale. Boy did I learn my lesson fast!

Right now Fluffy and Yoshi are on that new S.D Adult Light/Hairball diet and its been working!! No more hairballs!! (gosh, I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying that )

QUESTION? How do you know your cat would have this stone or crystal problem? I use scoopable cat littler, would it still be noticeable? I would hate to have one of them have it, and not know because I didnt know about it, or didnt see it......

Originally posted by ratchet22 QUESTION? How do you know your cat would have this stone or crystal problem? I use scoopable cat littler, would it still be noticeable? I would hate to have one of them have it, and not know because I didnt know about it, or didnt see it......

You will know because they won't be able to pee. The stones and/or crystals block the urinary tract and they can't pee. This is a life threatening situation. If the urine can't get out, it will become toxic to the cat and death can occur within 24 hours. So if you ever notice any of your cats - male or female - straining to pee and nothing or just little dribbles come out, don't wait until morning when the vet opens, take them in immediately!

Thanks so much everybody for all the info. Phred, I agree with your assessment of her first paragraph. If not for your endorsement of the content of the rest of her site, that first statement would be enough to make me close the site immediately - which is the exact opposite of what you want visitors to your site to do (according to my most recent classes that is ). I suppose if I told her Tubby lived to the ripe old age of 18 1/2 eating only dry cat food his entire life, she'd tell me he would have lived to 25 if I had fed him her "natural diet." I've learned over the years that just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it's good. Arsenic is "natural" and quite deadly.

Anyway, I might just take you up on your advice about having a complete urinalysis done in a month or two, just to make sure. So...how's that for controlling my paranoia?

Thanks, I will keep more of an eye out for that, some of them I see know and then pee, and some of them I never see, they are more private cats that dont want me to see. So will have to check more often. I now there is always poop and pee to scoop, but there are also 7 cats at home.

Ratchet: you WILL notice. Tigris who had no stones but a different urethra problem went 10 times per hour, only making a pee biscuit the size of a quarter (but with the full amount of digging) and he was telling he was unhappy.

Thanks, I guess your right, I would notice different pee biscuits in the litter box. Thanks, I am just glad I learned about this problem, so I can keep an eye out. I to agree that you can tell when they aren't happy, and something is wrong. I love my kids and watch them like a mother hen.

My Pete is one of those cats that blocks for no reason. My vet told me that 30% of all male cats will have some kind of urinary tract problem in their lives. Of that 30%, 80% will only block once and that's the end of it, another 15% will block a few times and get infections, the last 5% block for no reason and nothing stops it....That's my Pete... No infection, no stones, no crystals. Just blocks all the time.

He's had the PU surgery so he's fine now. But the surgery doesn't correct the underlying problem, only prevents the blockages. So Pete still sometimes has a flare-up and starts peeing all over the place. He does eat prescription food (c/d) and gets some supplements (cranberry extract) and all the water I can convince him to drink.

My vet has told me that when cats get sick as young as Pete did (2), they sometimes outgrow the problem. The PU surgery was needed to keep Pete alive. His flare-ups do seem to be getting farther apart and I'm hopeful that someday he'll be done with them all!

If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you must find the courage to live it.
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A friend of mine has several cats and ferrets, and has had for 20 years. She was feeding her animals high-quality food (Iams for the cats - I'm not sure about the ferrets) and all of her animals had always been very healthy. Hardly any vet visits (except for vaccinations) and they were all living to ripe old ages.

Then, her husband convinced her to switch to cheaper foods to save money. She was feeding the cats Friskies (I don't know about the ferrets). Within a few months, several of her animals ended up at the vet's office - some of the cats had urinary crystals.

She said that it was because of the high magnesium content in the cheaper foods.

She has me convinced - I've always fed Max high-quality dog food, but my husband always took care of Toby and fed him Whiskas. As soon as we're out of Whiskas, I'm putting him on better cat food. He's never yet been sick, but I don't want to risk it.